Can I ask you to leave certain species out?

Yes. Pine, black walnut, oak, and sweetgum are the four people ask about most, and the request form has a checkbox for each. Excluding a species means waiting longer, because we can only fill your load off a job that matches. Black walnut is the one worth excluding if you are mulching vegetables — it carries juglone, which some garden plants react badly to.

Are the chips composted or aged?

No. They are raw and fresh, straight off the job that day — wood, bark, leaves, and small sticks mixed together. Nothing is screened, dyed, or aged. That is why they are free: composting and screening cost money, and hauling raw chips to a disposal yard costs us money too.

Will fresh wood chips take nitrogen from my plants?

Only at the point where the chips touch the soil, and only in that thin layer. Spread on the surface as mulch, fresh chips do not pull nitrogen out of the root zone. The problem is real if you till them into the soil — then decomposition happens throughout the root zone and plants can go yellow. Leave chips on top and this is a non-issue.

What about black walnut and juglone?

Black walnut produces juglone, a compound that inhibits some plants — tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, and potatoes are the sensitive ones people notice. Most ornamentals, grasses, and trees tolerate it fine, and juglone breaks down in composted material. If you are mulching a vegetable garden, check the black walnut exclusion on the form.

Can I get logs or firewood rounds too?

Sometimes. There is a checkbox on the request form for it. Logs are heavier and harder to place than chips, so it depends on what the crew is cutting and whether your drop spot can take them. Checking the box makes it more likely we route a job your way, because it lets us clear two disposal problems in one stop.

Can I get less than a full load?

No. Our minimum drop is 10 cubic yards, and a normal load is about 15. Splitting a load means a second stop at a disposal yard, which is the cost we are avoiding by giving chips away in the first place. If 15 cubic yards is more than you need, plan where the surplus goes before you request one.

Martin Tree and Turf Care wood chipper loading fresh chips on a job site in Upstate South Carolina

Free load. Free delivery. No obligation.

Free Wood Chip Mulch Delivered in Greenville and Upstate SC

A full load is about 15 cubic yards of fresh chip mulch — roughly 1,600 square feet at 3 inches deep — and it costs you nothing, delivery included.

Request Free Chips

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Tree Climbers International

Tree Climbers International Certified Tree Technician

Licensed & Insured in SC

$1M Liability · $2M Umbrella

Certificate of insurance provided before any job begins

Free Written Estimates

Exact price in writing before any work begins — no surprises on your bill

24/7 Emergency Response

Emergency line answered any time of day or night — response time depends on distance and active jobs

How do I get free wood chips in Upstate SC?

Send us a request with your address and where the truck should dump. When a crew is working in your area with a full chip box, we bring you a load instead of hauling it to a disposal yard. There is no cost, no delivery fee, and no obligation to buy anything. You do not need to be home, as long as we can reach the spot you marked.

Send the request. Fill out the form with your address, where the truck should dump, and any species you do not want. A photo of the drop spot helps.
We confirm access. We check that a loaded truck can reach the spot you marked — about 12 feet of width, a firm surface, and clear overhead to raise the dump body.
We route a load to you. We bring chips when a crew is working in your area. We do not run a dedicated delivery truck, so the timing follows our job schedule rather than a calendar.
The chips get dropped. The load goes exactly where you marked it. No cost, no delivery fee, nobody needs to be home as long as we can reach the spot.

How much does a load of free wood chips cost?

Nothing. A load of wood chips is free, including delivery. A load runs about 15 cubic yards, which mulches roughly 1,600 square feet at 3 inches deep. We give chips away because hauling them to a disposal yard costs us money and time — dropping them at your place is cheaper for us than dumping them.

That is the whole arrangement. There is no upsell attached, no deposit, and no requirement that you ever hire us for tree work. If you want to compare against buying mulch, run the numbers in the mulch coverage calculator — bulk mulch is priced by the cubic yard, and a free load replaces about 15 of them.

What is in a load of fresh wood chips?

Raw chipped wood, bark, leaves, and small sticks — whatever came off the job that day, in whatever species we removed or pruned. Nothing is screened, dyed, aged, or sorted. Piece size ranges from sawdust to pieces a few inches across. It looks rougher than bagged mulch and it works better on beds and paths than bagged mulch does.

Species vary by where the job was. Loads out of established Greenville and Taylors neighborhoods run heavy on oak, tulip poplar, and hickory. Loads out of Greer toward Duncan and Lyman carry more loblolly pine. Newer subdivisions around Simpsonville and Five Forks produce a lot of ornamental pear. You can exclude species on the request form — it means waiting longer, but we will hold your request rather than send something you did not want.

Fresh chips are a surface mulch. Spread them on top, keep them 6 inches back from any trunk, and do not till them into the soil. The full wood chip guide covers nitrogen tie-up, black walnut, and which plants to keep them away from.

How many loads of wood chips do I need?

One load covers about 1,600 square feet at 3 inches deep — a large vegetable garden, several planting beds, or a long path. Most residential yards need one. Enter your square footage and depth below and it will tell you exactly.

1 of 2

What is the area you want to cover (square feet)?

Multiply length × width for a rectangular bed. For a circle, multiply radius × radius × 3.14.

How deep do you want the chips?

2 inchesRefresh over existing chips — thin top-dress3 inchesStandard depth for new beds and tree rings (recommended)4 inchesHeavy layer — paths and weed suppression

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1 more selection to go

Where can we drop the chips?

Anywhere a loaded truck can safely back in and raise a dump body. In practice that means about 12 feet of width, a firm surface that will not rut, and clear overhead — no low limbs and no utility lines above the spot. A driveway apron or a flat pad at the edge of the yard is the usual answer.

Overhead clearance is the one people forget. The dump body goes up before the chips come out, so a spot under a low branch will not work even if the truck fits underneath it. Add a photo of your intended spot to the request and we will tell you before we route a load, rather than sending a truck that has to turn around.

Soft ground is the other constraint. A loaded chip truck will rut a wet lawn badly, so we stay on gravel, pavement, or firm packed ground. If your only spot is on grass, tell us and we will time it for dry weather.

Which cities do you deliver free wood chips to?

We deliver free chips across the Upstate South Carolina service area. These twelve cities have their own page with the species mix and drop conditions specific to that area. Greer is our home city — our yard is on Lister Road — so it is the shortest run we make, and Anderson is the furthest.

Not on the list? Request anyway. We serve well beyond these twelve cities — see the full service area. Chips come off whatever job we are running, so anywhere we do tree trimming or removal, chips are available.

Request your free wood chips

Your details

First name

Last name

Phone

Text me when a load is headed my way. Message rates apply.

Where the chips go

Street address

Unit, apartment, suite (optional)

City

State

ZIP

The drop spot

Where should we dump the chips? A loaded truck needs about 12 feet of width, a firm surface, and clear overhead to raise the dump body.

Gate or driveway width, if it is tight (optional)

What you want

How much do you want?

One full loadA few loads over timeOngoing drop site

Any species you do not want?

PineBlack walnutOakSweetgum

Anything else to leave out (optional)

I will also take logs, not just chips — we can drop rounds for firewood on the same trip.

Photo of the drop spot (optional)

Add up to 5 photos so we can confirm access before we route a loadJPG or PNG, up to 8 MB each.

Free load, free delivery, no obligation. Minimum drop is 10 cubic yards.

Frequently Asked Questions

: Yes. Pine, black walnut, oak, and sweetgum are the four people ask about most, and the request form has a checkbox for each. Excluding a species means waiting longer, because we can only fill your load off a job that matches. Black walnut is the one worth excluding if you are mulching vegetables — it carries juglone, which some garden plants react badly to.
: No. They are raw and fresh, straight off the job that day — wood, bark, leaves, and small sticks mixed together. Nothing is screened, dyed, or aged. That is why they are free: composting and screening cost money, and hauling raw chips to a disposal yard costs us money too.
: Only at the point where the chips touch the soil, and only in that thin layer. Spread on the surface as mulch, fresh chips do not pull nitrogen out of the root zone. The problem is real if you till them into the soil — then decomposition happens throughout the root zone and plants can go yellow. Leave chips on top and this is a non-issue.
: Black walnut produces juglone, a compound that inhibits some plants — tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, and potatoes are the sensitive ones people notice. Most ornamentals, grasses, and trees tolerate it fine, and juglone breaks down in composted material. If you are mulching a vegetable garden, check the black walnut exclusion on the form.
: Sometimes. There is a checkbox on the request form for it. Logs are heavier and harder to place than chips, so it depends on what the crew is cutting and whether your drop spot can take them. Checking the box makes it more likely we route a job your way, because it lets us clear two disposal problems in one stop.
: No. Our minimum drop is 10 cubic yards, and a normal load is about 15. Splitting a load means a second stop at a disposal yard, which is the cost we are avoiding by giving chips away in the first place. If 15 cubic yards is more than you need, plan where the surplus goes before you request one.